Data loss prevention

From FreeMind

Prevention of data loss is achieved in FreeMind in the following functions or features:

Confirmation before deletion: when the user invokes the deletion function, he is asked for a confirmation. The deletion function can lead to a deletion of large branches of data, as one node can represent equally well a paragraph, a section of an article, an article, a folder with articles, or a category of articles. Confirmation before deletion is only implemented in 0.9.0 series.

Automatic backups: FreeMind creates automatic backups of open mind maps for the case of crash; see Autosave.

Preventing accidental deletion

Deleting nodes and branches in FreeMind

Since version 0.8.0, it is possible to delete a whole branch of nodes by pressing DELETE. When a user accidentally presses DELETE and does not notice that, they may loose considerable amount of data. For users using FreeMind as a knowledge base or a semi-structured database, being able to delete whole branch at one keystroke is problematic and unusual; in filesystem browsers, users are asked for confirmation before the file is deleted by the system.

However, some users use FreeMind as a mind mapper and are glad to be able to delete nodes just by pressing DELETE.

There are several solutions to this problem.

Add user option to enable or disable confirmation before deleting of nodes and branches (depending on model type)

Store all deleted nodes and branches in a kind of trashcan associated with every mind map

Ask for confirmation only for nodes with children

Ask for confirmation only for nodes with more than p children

The confirmation would be requested both for keystrokes DELETE and CONTROL + X, that is the actions Delete and Cut.